The National Merit Scholarship Corporation released its list of National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Students, naming five Mariemont High School students as National Merit Scholars. Andrew Chen and Alexandra Purdy were previously named semifinalists for the prestigious award while Zoe Copetas, Xander Stigall and Ellison Van Scoy have received Commended honors.

 

The National Merit^® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test — which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year— and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.

 

The five MHS students placed among the top 50,000 scorers from the over 1.5 million high school juniors who entered the 2021 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

 

As semifinalists, Chen and Purdy will continue in the 2021 competition in the hopes of earning one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million to be offered next spring. The nation-wide pool of semifinalists represents less than one percent of US high school seniors.

 

Although not moving on in the competition for scholarships, Copetas, Stigall and Van Scoy represent around 34,000 students from across the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.